The Count's World, Episode 4
by The Great Allie
Summary: Count Bleck and his minions are on a new mission. This time they're trying to find out who is stealing the sky... and how?
1. 4 dash 1

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_I'd like to remind my readers that I'm only writing as long as people are enjoying. If you have any opinions at all, and I mean ANY, I would love to know. Out of character? Chapters too long? Stories too short? Want to see more of one character and less of another? Hate my guts? Be sure to share! I'm not begging for reviews, but if you have something to say, please say it! That's what I love about publishing on the internet- instant feedback, and presenting material directly to your audience. I want to take advantage of it! I also want to use exclamation points!_

_And now without further ado, I give you Episode 4 of The Count's World_

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EPISODE 4-1

Count Bleck dragged himself into the castle's kitchen. His cape was thrown haphazardly over his shoulders, his monocle was sliding off his face, and his top hat lolled uselessly to one side.

Nastasia greeted him in the kitchen, where she had made breakfast. "Good morning, Count," she said.

"Hghnmph," replied Count Bleck.

"Uh, pardon?"

Count Bleck started to fix himself a cup of coffee. "Hghnmph, ghdmnn mnuh," he grumbled.

"One more time?"

Count Bleck raised his voice and said irritably, "Morning! Greeted Count Bleck!" He poured the coffee into a plain black mug. "I need coffee," he explained.

Tippi fluttered into the kitchen behind him. "Good morning!" she sang out. "I love mornings. I feel so refreshed, rejuvinated... so alive!"

Count Bleck grumbled something inaudable again.

"What was that?" asked Tippi?

"I said 'Good Morning, my love!" Count Bleck said in a voice full of forced cheerfulness.

"Good," said Tippi, "Cause that isn't what it sounded like."

"Hey, uh, Count," said Nastasia, "Just an FYI... we have a situation that needs your immediate attention."

Count Bleck took a sip of coffee. "Then I suppose we're doomed," he said.

Nastasia gave him a pointed look.

Count Bleck set his coffee down. "All right, all right. Tell Count Bleck what the trouble is."

"Have you looked out the window this morning?" asked Nastasia.

"No," said Count Bleck. "Why, what's the weather like?"

"Not the weather," Nastasia explained. "The sky is missing."

Count Bleck blinked a few times. Then he picked his coffee mug up again. "Oh, I see. Well, I suppose it happens from time to time." He took another sip, slowly letting the hot coffee pour into his shadowy mouth. Where the coffee went after that was anyone's guess. He leaned against the kitchen counter and brought the mug down level with his chest, and swirled it around a little.

Then, as if he had suddenly heard her, he spun around to face the window. "Wait, no it doesn't!" He looked out the window and up at the sky.

Sure enough, in the vast expanse of black that made the sky in Castle Bleck's dimension, were patches of white. It was as if a giant hand had reached up and grabbed the heavens, pulling them down and whisked away to who-knows-where.

"I've called a few other dimensions," Nastasia continued. "Yeah, and they're all reporting the same phenomenon. Patches of the sky just disappearing. We're gonna need an action plan for this."

"Why us?" asked Count Bleck. "This isn't really our department. We're more like... Care Koops than actual heroes. Wait, didn't Mr. L go back home? Have him call his brother and they can take care of it."

"Why, Blumiere," Tippi said in a shocked voice. "You're just going to let this go?"

"Do you think we really should do something?"

"Yes, I do!" Tippi began to pout. "You're trying to make the world a better place, right? Well, a lot of people are out there right now looking at the sky and wondering what's going on. And somewhere out there is a bad guy stealing the sky from everyone! Don't just send Mario to beat him up! We can make the world a better place by showing everybody that anybody can be a hero and solve problems, not just Mario! Think about it! Everybody will realize that everybody has the power to defend the world against evil! Don't you see?"

Count Bleck bought himself a spare moment by taking another sip of coffee. "I suppose it would give the minions something to do..." he said thoughtfully. "It might be good for them to tackle a new challenge. Very well. We are going. Count Bleck has decided it is so."

He threw one arm out dramatically. "Of course, I would go with them this time," he added. "I would like to be confident watching them in action before I send them on another solo mission."

"I'll go, too," Tippi said.

"I'll hold down the fort, then," Nastasia said. "Someone has to keep the inbox from overflowing."

"And feed Félicie, added Count Bleck. I'll go wake the minions."

* * *

It was still dark in Flipside when Merlon woke up. He was up before sunup every morning, to get a head start on the day. After a hearty breakfast of Saffron's own cooking, he went back to the studying of books that made up his everyday life.

This morning he was studying for answers to the strange phenomenon of the absense of large chunks of the sky. Giant patches of black were blotted up all around Flipside, and Flopside too, as he heard when he checked with Nolrem. He hadn't heard anything about this in his recent research to forestall the End of All Worlds, so it seemed like he would have quite a bit of studying ahead of him.

He was just settling down with a particularly large book when he heard a knock on the door. Merlon looked up from the book curiously. Visitors were always pleasant, but they were rarely a surprise to someone of his intelligence. He knew everything that was going on in town. Right now he had no idea who could be dropping by.

Merlon answered the door and, to his great surprise, saw Tippi and Mimi were there. Tippi looked the same as ever, just like she had the day he sent her to fetch the Hero. He smiled widely as he recognized her, and opened the door all the way.

"Why, Tippi!" he said happily. "I never thought I'd see you again, and especially not knocking on my door this early in the morning!"

"It's been wild," Tippi replied. "A lot of stuff's been going on. Mind if we come in?"

"Certainly, certainly." He glanced down at Mimi, who looked up at him in the surliest way possible. Mimi was dressed haphazardly in loungewear, and her hair was knotted and messy. Clearly she had just been pulled out of bed, and was not a morning person. "This was one of Count Bleck's minions, wasn't she?"

"It's a long story," said Tippi, as they all stepped into Merlon's house.

"Are we short on time?" asked Merlon?

"Well… not as such, no."

"Then why don't you share it?"

Mimi flopped down on a stool against the wall and scowled. Tippi fluttered next to Merlon. "Well, like I said, it's a long story, but it goes like this: The power of the Pure Hearts sent me and Blumiere to a dimension where we could be together, and I could be a human. Once we were gone, Blumiere felt sad that he had caused so much trouble, and it didn't seem right to him that we would just disappear away from everything, so he came back and started a new organization to make the world into a better place. But once we left where the Pure Hearts sent us, I turned back into a Pixl. Blumiere is trying to find out why. But right _now_ we're trying to find out why there are holes in the sky."

"You, too, then," said Merlon. He had stood quietly through Tippi's long explanation of their situation, but now he became more animated. He gestured over to his books. "So far I've found nothing in my library as to why this might be happening… but a library of this size that I've been working on for so many years, well, it may take a quite a while to go through everything. Such are the trials of being a descendant of the Ancients."

"Gosh, have you been getting on all right without me?" Tippi kidded.

"Oh, I get by," Merlon replied. "I spend much more time with villagers. I never did that much before, but I miss the company. Actually, I eat lunch at Saffron's most days now."

"Oh, how is Saffron doing these days?"

"She's fine, she's fine. She got a new recipe disc and it's just wonderful. I hear she got it from…"

Mimi, meanwhile, was not listening at all to Tippi and Merlon, and found it insufferable when they started chatting away, catching up on old times, while she was slouching there, bored to tears. And without even having a chance to change into real clothes! Dimentio must have woken her up late on purpose. He was always teasing her and making her feel sad. Why didn't the Count just boot him out already? Gah, where's your diary when you need it?

Mimi was completely zoning out, and her eyes drifted around the room and settled on the window. She could see the strange diamond-patterned sky of Flipside, with the big hunks of black scattered around. It was hardly a geometrical pattern. Actually, the spots shapes and locations were completely random, as if an ordinary person was doing it casually, not planning it out very far. Or a force of nature was doing it.

Just then, she saw a new patch of black forming in the sky. It looked as if the diamonds were peeling back, like a sticker being pulled from its backings. And although it was far away, she could see a few figures floating in the air, doing the peeling.

"So that's how I almost died the fifteenth time," Merlon finished. "But I got the flower pot back, and since that day the Pikmin have called me Merlon the Honest Wizard."

Tippi laughed. "What a wonderful and fascinating story! I can't believe you've never told me that one before."

"I was almost certain I had," said Merlon thoughtfully. "Oh well, I have so many stories, I'm bound to be telling them all forever. And as long as I'm alive, I'll be collecting even more."

"Uh, guys?" Mimi said nervously, looking out the window. "We have a… um, I mean, there's a… would you come look at this?"

"What is it?" Merlon and Tippi both stood behind Mimi and looked out the window. Sure enough, they both saw the barely visible figures peeling the sky out of the… sky.

"Oh, my," said Merlon. "It seems we've found the rogues responsible for the theft of the sky."

"Mimi, go tell the others what you've seen!"

"Right!" Mimi jumped to action, opening the door and preparing to dash out. Then she realized something, turned around, and asked, "Um, Tippi, aren't you coming?"

"I need to talk to Merlon for a little longer," she said. "I'll catch up as soon as I can."

"Okay," said Mimi. "Um, you know where we all are, right?"

"I do," said Tippi. "Thank you."

"Kay," said Mimi, and disappeared out the door.

"Tell me," said Merlon, after Mimi was gone. "Whatever happened to Count Bleck, then?"

"We're together now," said Tippi. "Well, actually, he's right outside the gates of Flipside."

"Is he, now?"

"Yeah." Tippi made a shrugging motion. "He doesn't want anybody to see him… I think he's ashamed of what he's done and he's keeping his distance from a lot of places. Which is a shame, because he really needs to talk to you."

"Tell him to come in," said Merlon. "Tell him all is well."

* * *

"Right, said Count Bleck after Mimi brought him up to speed. Somehow we've got to get up there and find out who's taking the sky."

"I'd like teh go up there an' show 'em ezzacly what I think o' people who take things that belong teh everyone." O'Chunks cracked his knuckles. "I'll give yeh a hint- it involves chunking."

"Yes, yes," said Count Bleck. "However, it isn't going to be easy to get you all the way up there."

"Ah, 'tis a wee matter in the grand scheme o' things," said O'Chunks.

"O'Chunks, talking about the grand scheme o' things," said Dimentio, as he hung several inches behind him, above his head. "It's a rare sight, isn't it?"

"Hey," Mimi suddenly realized, "Dimentio floats everywhere. Can he get up there?"

"I don't know," said Dimentio, "Why don't we ask him? Hey, Dimentio, can you get all the way up there and find out who's taking the sky? Oh, uh, I dunno, maybe? Okay, great, do you want to try? Sure, I'll give it my best effort." Dimentio crossed his arms. "I'm right here, you know."

"Ah, quit yer belly-achin'," O'Chunks waved his hand at him. "We didn' mean nothin' by it."

"Dimentio, be a dear and find out who is stealing the sky," said Count Bleck. "There. Now that someone has asked you nicely, you've no grounds for pouting."

"Fine," Dimentio huffed. "I'll go, but I won't enjoy it."

With that, he disappeared to make his way to the sky. As soon as he was gone, Tippi joined the group.

"Excuse me," she said to Count Bleck. "If you want to meet with Merlon, he says it's all right."

Count Bleck was surprised. "What did you say? Really?"

"Yes, he really said you could meet with you."

"This news shocks Count Bleck. I thought he wouldn't want to have anything to do with me. Why would he have anything to do with me?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

Count Bleck took a long time, thinking it over. He leaned his head forward, resting his forehead in his hands. He was so still and quiet that for a moment, they thought he had fallen asleep. But at last he picked his head up and announced, "It is decided. Count Bleck will meet with Merlon the wizard. I leave the minions to wait for my return here."

"Do you want us to go ahead and stop the bad guys while you're meeting?" suggested Mimi. "Save time?"

"Hmm," said Count Bleck. "Mm, check in with me after Dimentio comes back." He turned to Tippi. "Come with me to Merlons," he said. "Please?"

"Of course, Blumiere. Did you think I would leave you?"

"No," said Count Bleck with a smile. "I just like to ask. The answer comforts me."

Mimi giggled. O'Chunks groaned.


	2. 4 dash 2

EPISODE 4-2

Dimentio hovered high up, miles above Flipside, where the air met the sky. It was pretty much the same up there as it was down here, except with less ground. It wasn't that hard to find the source of the trouble- just follow the shambling black clots.

The source of the trouble, he was surprised to learn, were Fly Guys- that is, Shy Guys with balloons wrapped around their middles to make them fly. They had comically large pairs of scissors they were using to cut chunks out of the sky. Two of them sliced the holes, two of them rolled the sky up like carpet, and a whole group of them were holding the rolls, waiting for the job to be finished.

"Hello, there!" he called.

The Fly Guys reacted in surprise.

"Oh, I do apologize," Dimentio said in a friendly voice. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Eek," said one of the Fly Guys. "I almost dropped the whole batch of sky."

"Yes, I've been meaning to ask you about that," said Dimentio. "Why, exactly, are you taking the sky?"

"We need it," said a Fly Guy.

"Why do you need it?"

"None of your business."

"That's not really a reason," said Dimentio.

"Now ask me if I care."

"I don't think I need to ask that question to know the answer." Dimentio pondered the situation for a little bit as the Fly Guys continued to cut the holes. "I think you would be better off putting the sky back now," he said smoothly.

"Buzz off," said the Fly Guy.

Dimentio put his hands together, and then opened them up. Between them, he had a bright burst of purple, yellow, and black. It was the same attack he had used against Count Bleck; now it sizzled and crackled dangerously, waiting to be used against the Fly Guys.

"No," said Dimentio. "I do believe you would be better off putting the sky back, right now."

The Fly Guy took one look at Dimentio's hands, and then waved his arms frantically at the other Fly Guys. "Get the glue sticks!" he shouted. "Quick! Get the glue sticks, man!"

"Ah ha ha ha ha," said Dimentio. "Marvelous. You take care of that, and I'll just be on my way, then. Ciao."

* * *

"So, explain this to me," said Merlon. He offered a seat to Bleck, with Tippi resting on his hat, and took his own easy chair across from them.

"Well," said Count Bleck. "It's difficult to explain when I don't know what's going on. We were sent somewhere by the Pure Hearts, but we decided to leave, and she reverted back into a Pixl."

"I see," said Merlon. "I can think of a few reasons that may have happened. Tell me about the place where the Pure Hearts sent you."

"It was a wonderful place," said Count Bleck. He smiled involuntarily as the memory of that amazing place came back. It had been perfect in every way. "We appeared on a hilltop, overlooking a pristine valley—"

The door opened and Mimi stuck her head in. "Sorry to bother you, Count," she said. "We found out its Shy Guys taking the sky. Dimentio got them to put the sky here back, but it's still missing everywhere else. You said you wanted me to check in when we found out, so I'm checking in."

"Yes, thank you," said Count Bleck quickly. "I think you can handle Shy Guys. Do you know where they live?"

"No, none of us know."

"I do," said Tippi. "I'll take them there."

"I'd prefer it if you stayed," Count Bleck said quietly.

"I'll be back," she whispered. "You don't need me for this, do you?"

"Well… that is… uh…"

"It's all right, Blumiere," said Merlon.

Calling Count Bleck by his old name, his true name, had a calming affect. Count Bleck visibly relaxed, and gently lifted Tippi off of his hat. "Go with them," he instructed confidently. "And for goodness sake, call me if something goes horribly, horribly wrong. That's why I came."

"Gotcha," said Tippi. "What if something only goes _horribly_ wrong?"

"Hmm… use your best discretion."

"Right. Okay, then, goodbye."

Mimi tapped her foot impatiently. "Well, let's go, then! I'm getting real bored here!"

"You'd do well to learn patience," said Count Bleck.

"Patience, nothing! I haven't had a chance to take a shower yet!"

* * *

Shy Guys come mainly from two places- Subcon and Shy Guy Toy Box. Since I'm not entirely sure that Subcon exists, given the hazy continuity of Super Mario USA, Tippi decided to check for the sky in the toy box first. She took them to Toad Town, where the toy box supposedly was.

Today was a quiet day. None of the toads were scrambling around, which was a sure sign that everything was okay. Toads were such peaceful folk that even the slightest disturbance would have them completely wound up, scrambling around in a panic.

Tippi teleported them to a residential area of Toad Town. It was such a peaceful place there. Green grass, trimmed trees, quiet houses, and a nice cobblestone path all set the scene for a tranquil settlement where you could really just relax and let the days go by. It was the polar opposite of rough and tough Rogueport, the last town they were in. Just _being_ in Toad Town made you feel welcoming and cozy. When it wasn't under attack, it was picture-perfect.

"Keep your heads down," said Tippi. "Shy Guy Toy Box is in one of these houses. It should be an empty one."

She fluttered to one of the houses and looked in the window. "Aha! Just as I thought. This is the one." She went up to the door and waited for a moment. "Uh… could one of you please get the door for me?"

O'Chunks, in a gentlemanly fashion, opened the door and ushered Tippi and Mimi in, before entering himself in front of Dimentio. Inside, the paint was peeling and the floor was cracked, signaling that the house was abandoned. There was no furniture.

"This can't be it," said O'Chunks. "There ain't so much as a bare button in this place."

Tippi thought carefully, and then said, "This is not an empty room. There's a door hidden in here. Let me make it visible for you."

Then she went to the wall, and touched a certain place.

"Oh, wow!" Mimi said excitedly. "That's a cool trick!"

On the far end of the wall, they could see a hidden door built into it just a few inches above the ground. When touched, it spun around, giving the Shy Guys access to a hidden room behind. One by one, they jumped through the hole and came out on the other side. This room was empty, too, save for a bright and colorful toy box right in the center.

"I see," said Tippi. "They shrink down tiny and go into the toy box to play. Get it?"

"Ah, I read yeh," said O'Chunks. "The Shy Guys are all runnin' around way down in there like wee little bugs."

"Yes, like that."

O'Chunks picked up the toy box and began to shake it vigorously. "Ey! Get out 'ere, ya punks! Yeh messed with the wrong force when yeh started cuttin' out the sky!"

"O'Chunks, please!" Tippi shrieked. "Control yourself!"

O'Chunks put the box back down on the ground. "Yeh have teh know how teh talk their language," he said. "They need teh know we mean business."

Mimi opened the toy box, and at once an entire crowd of Shy Guys jumped out, suddenly changing from ultra tiny to normal sized. Most of them looked incredibly dizzy; a few of them were bruised a little.

"Hey!" said the Shy Guy spokesperson, stepping up. "What was _that_ about?"

"What'dya mean, what was that about?" O'Chunks growled. "Yeh up an' yanked the sky outta the sky!"

"Yeah, so?" the Shy Guy said defensively. "It's not like you need _all_ the sky."

"You can't take things that don't belong to you," said Tippi. "The sky belongs to everybody. You can't take it for yourself."

"But there's no sky in the toy box!" the Shy Guy whined. The others murmured in agreement. "Is it so wrong to want a little sky of our own?"

"Nothing wrong with _wanting_," said Tippi. "The problem started when you graduated from _wanting_ to _taking._ Why don't you just go outside?"

"There's no toys there."

"Well, you're going to have to make some choices," said Tippi. "And sacrifices, just like everybody else in this world. Now, we're here to take the sky back. Are you going to hand it over?"

The Shy Guy quickly sized up O'Chunks, Mimi, and Dimentio. Then he turned around and looked at the small mob of Shy Guys behind him. He did a quick headcount and then said, "I think we can take you."

"Oh, they're just beggin' to taste me chunks!" said O'Chunks, cracking his knuckles.

"Doesn't matter, though," said the Shy Guy. "The sky isn't here anymore."

"What?" Tippi asked in surprise.

"Yeah," he continued. "We were swipin' some foggy sky from near Bowser's Castle, and he came out and got _real_ mad. When he found out what we were doing, he took all of our sky for himself."

"Um… why?"

"Cause he's greedy." The Shy Guy shrugged. "We don't understand Bowser."

"He's mean and scary!" another one piped up.

"And he smells like hot dogs," a third one added.

"Yeah, hot dogs," said the spokesperson. "So he got all our sky, and we were just starting over when those guys," he gestured to the side of the group, "came back and said they had to glue it back in place."

Dimentio raised his hand. "That was me," he said.

"They'll go back out again once we find some better sky," said the Shy Guy.

"I'm sure they will," said Dimentio.

"Now, if you don't mind, we're going to go back into the toy box," said the Shy Guy. "We have a whole lot of block towers that have to be set up now, thanks to you. Unless you wanna fight us."

"NO," said Tippi loudly, with a quick glance to O'Chunks. "Why don't you just go back into your little toy box, then?"

The Shy Guy, glared at them for a moment, and then gestured to the other. Two by two, they all jumped back into the box, shrinking down to the size of a speck before hitting the bottom. The lid slid back on top of them.

Dimentio snapped his fingers, and an enormous boulder appeared on top of the toy box.

"Dimentio!" gasped Tippi.

"They'll be fine," he assured her. "This will only hold them until they forget what they were doing before."

Mimi shook her head. "Well, what if they get hungry or something?" she asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Dimentio scoffed. "They have more food down there than we do in our whole dimension… mostly candy, but still."

"Well," said Tippi, "I'll go tell Count Bleck what happened. I promised I would come back to him, anyway. You get a head start on getting the sky back from Bowser, all right?"

"Check," said Mimi. "Get the sky back from Bowser."

Tippi nodded, then took a second glance at the boulder, sighed heavily, and disappeared. The others left right behind her.


	3. 4 dash 3

EPISODE 4-3

"That's the tricky part of this whole situation," said Merlon. "The ancients designed the Pure Hearts to counteract the Chaos Heart. If the Chaos Heart doesn't exist, the Pure Hearts shouldn't either."

Count Bleck leaned back in his seat and thought about what Merlon had told him. He had been talking to Merlon for only a short while, but he had already absorbed more information about the Pure Hearts and the Light Prognosticus than he could retain. He glanced out the window. It was open, to let a gentle breeze in. The breeze felt nice in the otherwise stuffy library room. Count Bleck turned his attention back to Merlon.

Merlon continued, "But as long as love exists, the Pure Hearts have power. As long as evil exists, the Chaos Heart still has power. It's a struggle that will continue until the end of time itself. I can't tell you where the Pure Hearts are now that they've fulfilled their initial purpose. The Light Prognosticus is not showing me that far."

"I see," said Count Bleck. "So what you're saying is…"

"We're in uncharted waters," finished Merlon. "If the ancients looked this far, I haven't found their prophecy yet."

"I suppose that means I won't find the answer, then, doesn't it?" Count Bleck said sadly.

"I wouldn't say that," Merlon encouraged. He smiled reassuringly and added, "Just because we haven't found the answer yet doesn't mean it isn't somewhere to be found."

"Well, then, what do you recommend? Count Bleck has run out of ideas."

"I recommend for you to keep doing what you're doing," said Merlon. "I have a feeling that you're already on the right track, even if it doesn't feel that way. I have the instincts of an ancient. I can sense these things."

Just then, Tippi fluttered in through the open window. "Excuse me," she said. "I'm back!"

"Wonderful, exclaimed Count Bleck with pride. Have you finished the mission already?"

"No," said Tippi. "The Shy Guys don't have the sky anymore, so the others are getting a head start on taking it back."

"I suppose you'd like to go join them?" Merlon asked.

"Actually," said Count Bleck, "I have more questions on my mind that I would like to ask… more about the Pure Hearts and such."

"Not a problem," said Merlon. "I should have all the answers you need… somewhere in here."

* * *

Bowser's Castle loomed over the landscape, a powerful structure of intimidation, designed to strike fear and terror into the hearts of all who approached it. It was perched on an enormous rock shaped like the King Koopa's head, surrounded by a moat of molten lava, and built out of volcanic bricks adorned with spikes and gargoyles. Bowser's Castle was a castle that demanded respect, and if you were smart, you gave it.

Mimi, Dimentio, and O'Chunks were standing on the far side of the moat, hidden behind a clump of dead trees. There was a bridge leading across the lava moat to the castle. There were also Koopatrolls crawling all over to make sure nobody but the members of the Koopa Troop used that bridge.

"It's real easy," Mimi said, thinking out loud. "See, um, Dimentio can sneak in easy because he can disappear and warp around like he does all the time, and I can just turn into a Koopatroll and walk around in plain sight, unnoticed. And O'Chunks can… um…" Mimi scrunched up her face in careful thought. "Hmm… Oh! I know! Um, does anybody have a bed sheet?"

Dimentio and O'Chunks exchanged glances.

"Dimentio, can you go get one?" Mimi asked sweetly.

"Yyyyyyyes, very well," he said. "I shall return in a moment." He disappeared.

Mimi bounced energetically on her feet as she waited for him to return. O'Chunks waited until a decent amount of time had passed before he said, "Uh, so, I was just wonderin'—"

"Ssh!" Mimi interrupted. "Waiting."

"All right, then."

Dimentio reappeared with a large white sheet. "I brought this back from the castle," he said.

Mimi snatched it eagerly. "Gimmie!" she squeaked. She pulled a handful of children's markers out form her pocket, spread out the sheet, and began to scribble. Then she ripped two holes out of the sheet.

"You're welcome," said Dimentio. "Happy to do it."

Mimi threw the sheet over O'Chunk's head. "There!" she said happily. "Perfect camouflage!"

Dimentio came up behind Mimi and peered over her shoulder at O'Chunks. He was completely hidden under the white sheet. Mimi had scribbled a crude drawing of a Goomba onto the front center. Above the drawing were two eye holes, a good four inches below O'Chunks's actual eyes. It was lopsided and cross-eyed, hovering a good three feet over his feet.

"So, how's it look?" asked O'Chunks. "Am I hidden?"

"Um, yes," said Dimentio. "Hidden like an Easter egg. They'll never find you. We're all set."

"Ready to go get the sky?" asked Mimi.

"I'm as ready as a rising loaf of bread," said Dimentio. "Let's get this finished, already."

* * *

They carefully crossed the bridge. O'Chunks was walking as softly as he could to avoid suspicion. Of course, that's the same as saying a Fuzzy was being as calm as he could. But of course, if anything was going to give him away it wouldn't be his heavy footsteps.

Mimi's disguise was actually passable. She looked exactly like a Koopatroll, right down to the spikes, armor, and spear. She already had her tough guy walk down from her transformation into a Robbo Craw back in Rogueport, and it applied very well here. Dimentio, though he was nowhere to be seen, was following close behind. They weren't sure if he was invisible, or just very well hidden- under the bridge, or behind the sheet, or even above everyone's heads. Dimentio could keep himself out of sight. It served him well.

"This is the door," Mimi said when they reached the end of the bridge.

"Yeh don't say," said O'Chunks. He reached out for the handle.

Mimi squawked and slapped his hand away. "No, no! Stop!"

O'Chunks pulled his hand back. "Ey!" he said. "Just cause yer a girl don't mean yeh can slap the thunder!"

"You almost gave us away!" Mimi hissed as loudly as she dared.

"What'd I do?"

"Goombas don't have arms!"

O'Chunks gasped. "Oh, great bog-flies on a mule! Yer right! I've made a terrible mistake!"

Mimi tried the knob and opened the door. "We're okay. Nobody saw us. Now, let's get inside and find that sky. Dimentio, you coming?"

From somewhere indiscriminate, Dimentio's voice called out, "I'm right behind you… all the time…"

"Okay," said Mimi. "Real creepy. Thanks for that."

They walked down the main entry hall of Bowser's castle. It was massive, it was grand. The walls were made of the same volcanic stone that made the outside appear so imposing. Every few feet a bright, steel torch affixed to the wall gave out a pool of light. There was a red carpet lining the stone floor, wooden doors with steel knockers, and gnarled metal chandeliers held by Shy Guys, with Bowser heads gripping the candles.

"Wow," said Mimi. "What a castle. I bet we could get some great decoration ideas for Castle Bleck."

"Mimi, focus."

"Oopsie! Sorry." Mimi looked around. "Was that Dimentio? Where are you?"

She wasn't looking where she was going for a split second. They rounded a corner and ran into two other Koopatrolls and two Hammer Brothers.

"Hey!" shouted a Koopatroll. "Watch where you're going!"

"Oopsie," said Mimi again. "Uh, I mean, why don't _you_ watch where _you're_ going? I got places to be in this here castle, and lots of tough guy work to do!"

O'Chunks groaned under the sheet. Someday he and Mimi would have to have a good, long talk about learning to talk like a tough guy. He made a mental note to have that talk with her sooner rather than later.

"Ah, don't start anything, Frank," said the second Koopatroll. "He's just mad 'cause he found out his daughter's going out with some scumbag."

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry," Mimi said, concerned. "Um… I mean… uh… well, don't take it so hard, and, um as long as you're there for her she'll come around?"

"Thanks," said Frank. "That's really good advice."

One of the Hammer Bros was eyeballing O'Chunks. He looked him up and down carefully. Finally, he said, "Something's not right here."

The other Hammer Bro looked, too, and said, "Yeah, you're right."

"Oh, uh, I can explain that, see—" Mimi began babbling

"Why aren't you at your post?" the first Hammer Bro demanded. "All the Goombas are supposed to be around the vault with the Koopa Troopas!"

"Oh," said O'Chunks lamely. "I, ah, was just headin' over. Had teh pick up somethin' from… uh…."

"All right, then," said the Hammer Bro, completely clueless. Then, to the others, "Come on, guys. Let's finish this round and clock out. Its Edible Food Day in the cafeteria- don't wanna miss that."

They continued on their way. Mimi watched them round the corner, and as soon as they were gone, let out an enormous sigh of relief.

"Wow, that was a close one!" she said loudly. "I can't believe it, we were like, soooo close to getting caught!"

O'Chunks shoved his hand over her mouth. "Keep quiet! There's still time fer that yet."

"Oh, right."

* * *

After navigating the corridors of the castle slowly and carefully, they came across what had to be the Vault Room. It was a metal door, with a giant lock on it, surrounded by Goombas and Koopa Troopas standing guard at every opportunity for a twenty-food radius. The door itself was flanked by two Clubbas, who appeared to be sleeping.

"Good," said Mimi. "We're at the door. Now, how do we get in?"

"Very carefully," said Dimentio's voice. They heard the telltale snap of his fingers, and all of a sudden all three of them were on the other side of the door.

"That's a nice trick," said Mimi, looking around in surprise. Dimentio was hovering above them.

Dimentio bowed. "Thank you," he said. "I can solve any problem… with magic!"

O'Chunks lifted the sheet and looked out from under it. "Is it good to come out now?" he asked?

"Yeah," said Mimi. "Wow, this really is the big vault, isn't it?"

The room was enormous, to say the least, and had to have the entire Koopa Kingdom's treasury stored in it. Unfortunately, it was mostly in coins, so Mimi saw no real value to it. Aside from coins, there were other things of value- badges, trading cards, treasure chests, ? blocks, and… da ta TA! Pieces of the sky were piled up on the far side of the room. Cloudy chunks, sunny chunks, denim chunks from Yoshi's Island, blocky chunks from Lineland, and any other kind of sky you could imagine.

"Whee!" Mimi clapped her hand. "We did it! We found the sky!"

Without thinking, she tore across the room, dodging piles and chests, until she could dive headfirst into the sky and soak in it's victorious goodness.

"…So I believe you'll be _quite_ happy with the new security measures the Magikoopas have taken to protect the Royal Treasury, Your Nastiness," said an old woman.

Mimi jumped and dove under the sky. Dimentio disappeared. O'Chunks draped the sheet back over his head. Bowser and Kammy Koopa just came out from a secluded section of the vault, where they had apparently been looking at something.

"Yeah, it's pretty good," said Bowser. "But it would be _great_ if it were great. Can't you make it any more… secure?"

"But, Your Pickiness," Kammy pleaded, "We've upped the security by an exponential factor of seven. I can't even think of any area we've missed. Don't worry, nobody is going to come after your treasures."

Bowser wasn't watching where he was going, and bumped into O'Chunks.

"Oh, excuse me," he said, and continued on his way. Then, a split second later, he turned around and said, "Hey! I haven't authorized any Goombas to be in here! And you're… you're just a drawing on a sheet! No, no, this doesn't add up at all."

Bowser ripped the sheet off O'Chunks.

"YOU!" he snarled. "I remember you!"

"Aye," said O'Chunks. "I bet yer still clutchin' yer bruises from the last time we met."

"What?" Bowser sneered. "The way I remember it, I mopped the floor with your scrawny little hide!"

"You listen 'ere," O'Chunks said declaratively. "No one ever 'ad the chunks to take out the master of all chunks! Yer jes' a namby-pamby I 'ad teh go easy on."

"What are you doing in my vault?"

"Takin' back what don't belong to yeh," O'Chunks struck a pose. "On a mission from me Blecky-boy hisself!"

"I'd like to see you try," Bowser said proudly. "I've got so much in this vault it'll take you a year just to haul it away, if I let you. Which I won't!"

"Eh?" O'Chunks dropped his pose. "No, no, I was jes' talkin' about the sky."

"The sky?" Bowser glanced at the sky, where Mimi was hiding. "Oh, yeah. That. No, you can't take it. It's a principle thing."

"Then I guess we're gonna have ta settle this like real men," said O'Chunks. "GRA-GOOGLY!"

"RAAAARGH!"

Kammy took a few steps back. "Uh, Your Ferociousness, I don't know if this is the best time to be getting into—"

"You stay outta this, Kammy," Bowser snapped. "This is between me and Blo'Chunks!"

Mimi hid her head under a piece of cloudy sky. "We should have just called Mario," she moaned.


	4. 4 dash 4

_Argh! This is the last one where the two numbers will be the same  Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted…_

EPISODE 4-4

"So, then," Merlon continued, "if you don't believe in prophecies anymore, then why are you keeping your own Prognosticus?"

"It's not a Prognosticus," said Bleck. "Well, I called it that, because that would tie it to the Light and Dark Prognosticus. But it isn't a prophecy. I'm not a prophet, anyway."

"Why don't you believe in prophecies?"

"After what I've seen, how could I?" Count Bleck pulled his hat down as he thought for a moment- again, pulling himself into his own little world inside his head, eliminating all outside distractions. "The Dark Prognosticus was the one written initially, for the point of predicting the future. Specifically, the End of All Worlds. The Light Prognosticus was written to counteract the Dark one, so it wasn't a prophecy, am I correct in saying that?"

"In a way," Merlon said. "We make our own destinies, after all."

"Indeed. But really, the prophecy that was foretold did not come to pass, and the prophecy that wasn't an actual prediction turned out to be true. I came to wonder if the Light Prognosticus was simply so versatile that it could be applied in any way. I started keeping a record of what we're doing, in the Beige Prognosticus, because I believe that if the future generations need answers, they need only look to the past. The answers can't come from a prophecy."

Merlon considered this carefully. "That's a fascinating viewpoint," he said. "I'm impressed you've thought it out so far."

"Thank you," said Count Bleck. "I'm still not sure what it means."

They laughed.

"Merlon," said Tippi, "What happens to the Dark and Light Prognosticuses right now?"

"Since there hopefully will always be a future, the books will always be relevant- that is, since their only purpose is to predict the future," Merlon explained. "I will keep the Light Prognosticus close, and you… you must find a way to keep the Dark Prognosticus from finding it's way into evil's hands."

"The book should be destroyed," said Tippi harshly.

"A book such as that surely should be vanquished, but even without it the power of chaos would live," said Merlon. "It would be unwise to experiment with the dark powers, even for the purpose of annihilating it."

Count Bleck shook his head. "This is too deep for me," he said. "I think I'm getting in over my head. I'm going to go now, and take care of our mission. Thank you, Merlon, for everything."

"Anytime," said Merlon. "Please, feel free to come visit me any time you need an answer."

Count Bleck turned around to open the door, but it suddenly flew open in front of him. He stumbled back a few paces as Dimentio, a giant sheet, and a Koopatrol barreled into the room.

"We messed up bad, Count!" the Koopatrol squawked, in Mimi's voice. Count Bleck realized she had been doing some shape shifting and hadn't had a chance to change back.

"We did not," said Dimentio. "All is well with the sky."

"It has been returned?"

"Yeah," said Mimi, still out of breath. "But we're still in trouble. Bowser and his cronies are real mad at us, Count. They were on our tail for three dimensions!"

"Please don't exaggerate, you silly girl," said Dimentio. "We changed dimensions only once, after the sky was returned, and they cannot follow us here to Flipside. There is no need to panic."

"Yeh saw the rage in 'is eyes," O'Chunks said, panting. He threw the sheet off of himself. "I thought I 'ad 'im, but 'e pulled a dirty trick on me. Couldn't take me in a fair fight!"

"Oh, my," said Tippi. "What happened?"

"It's a long story," Mimi said.

"I'm sure it is," said Count Bleck. "Why don't we return to Castle Bleck and you can tell me all about it."

"Oh, please don't," said Merlon with a grin. "I don't want to miss this."

Count Bleck eyed Merlon, then turned to his minions. "All right," he said. "Explain the situation to me. What happened after you left for Bowser's Castle?"

"Weeeelll…" Mimi began, "We snuck into his vault where he was keeping the sky, but Bowser and his Magikoopa hag were already there. Then he and O'Chunks got into a fight while we were hiding, and Dimentio and me jumped out to help him 'cause we thought it wasn't going well—"

"And yeh were wrong," O'Chunks cut in. "I coulda taken ten o' those donkeys on an empty stomach!"

"O'Chunks, please don't interrupt," said Count Bleck.

"Yeah, O'Chunks," Mimi gloated.

"Mimi, don't rub it in."

"Yeah, Mimi!"

Count Bleck crossed his arms pointed a finger at one, than the other. "Do I have to separate you two?"

"No, Count," they muttered.

"If I may," Dimentio piped up. "We were doing very well in the fight. So well, in fact, that the king was forced to call for reinforcements. We were up against at least half of the Koopa Kingdom. We had no choice but to hightail it out of there. Fortunately, we filled our arms and were able to haul all of the missing sky pieces out with us."

"Wonderful, exclaimed Count Bleck! I'm quite delighted in this. You were successful even without me."

"Yeah," said Mimi, grinning ear to ear now. "We ran and ran and ran until we were far away from them and they had to stop chasing. Then we brought the sky back to Shy Guy Toybox."

Count Bleck blinked. Then, he said, "Did you? Well, that's just wonderful. Really, you did a top-noch job. Count Bleck is very proud of you."

"Golly, thanks, Count!" Mimi squealed.

"May I ask a question, though?"

"Yeah?"

"Didn't the _Shy Guys_ steal the sky from the _sky_ in the first place?"

Dead silence. The three minions stood there, slack-jawed and struck dumb. Tippi was trying her hardest not to laugh, but you could hear her snickers all around the room. Merlon shook his head and sighed.

At last, Mimi said, "Ohhhhh… right."

Count Bleck turned to Merlon. "See, this is why I wanted to come with them."

"I understand now," said Merlon. "What are you going to do, then?"

Count Bleck picked up his staff and tapped the floor three times. "Come on," he said. "Let's go. Were going to put the sky back for good this time."

* * *

It was dark when they all finally returned to Castle Bleck. Actually, I should say it was _night_, at a time when the sun would be down, but still early enough to not be bedtime. It's harder to describe in a dimension that's all black.

As soon as they opened the door, Félicie bounded down the hall and jumped up on Mimi, yipping excitedly.

"Hi, girl!" cooed Mimi. "Didja miss me? Oh, who's a good girl? Who's a good girl!"

"I hope you all took the time to learn something from this experience," said Count Bleck.

"Aye, that I did, Count," said O'Chunks. "There be a time for chunkin' and a time for holdin' back. And when yeh got a army on yer back, then chunkin ain't an option."

"Something like that." Count Bleck shook his head. "You have to remember not to be so careless. Last time, in Rogueport, the whole mission fell apart from simple, careless mistakes. And this time, we could have finished hours ago if you hadn't been careless again."

"It was foolish of us, Count," said Dimentio. "I can assure you, it won't happen again."

Count Bleck shook his head. "I don't want your assurances, Dimentio. Especially not yours—but I don't want any of you to _say_ you'll do better. I want you to do better. _Show_ me."

"Gotchya," said Mimi.

They left the main entry hall and were about to split up to go their own separate ways when they met Nastasia. She turned a corner and was surprised to see them.

"Oh! Um, hey, Count, there's an issue that needs your attention," she said. "Yeah, hang on a second." She leaned around the corner and said, "Hey, uh, guys? Yeah, I found them. Come here."

"What is it?" asked Count Bleck?

"Remember those two X-Nauts we interviewed recently?" she asked?

Just then, Sherwood and Gary, the two X-Naut troops, came around the corner. They were identical to each other, as they were to every other X-Naut, with red and gray uniforms that had a black X prominently on the front. Both of them had the same pair of goggles, the same scruffy color, the same ears, the same gloves and boots, the same look. Except for subtle human differences, they would be undistinguishable. But people, no matter how identical visibly, are never two copies of the same person, and there was something about those two that made it noticeable which one was Sherwood and which one was Gary.

"Uh, hi?" Mimi said, bewildered. "What's this about an interview?"

"Count Bleck seeks to expand our organization," said Count Bleck. "These two were willing to come and work for us, instead of the X-Naut army."

Sherwood waved. "Hi," he said. "Pleased to meetchya. I'm Sherwood, and this is my pal Gary."

Gary waved.

"Gary doesn't talk," Sherwood explained.

"There will be time for introductions tomorrow," said Count Bleck. "I think we're all a little tired from our work today. Minions, why don't you go to sleep? Mimi, take a shower. We will begin introductions in the morning. Sherwood, Gary, come with me. I'll show you where you'll be staying."

"Hey, uh, Count," said Mimi cautiously. "Why didn't you mention any of this happening before?"

Count Bleck was taken by surprise. "Oh…" he said. "It seems to have slipped my mind, with all of the excitement in the castle these past few days. I didn't think to mention it."

"That was pretty _careless_ of you," said Dimentio.

"I suppose it was." Count Bleck chuckled weakly. "Bleh heh heh… I suppose even the best of us aren't above mistakes. We'll all need to work on it, won't we?"

"I suppose we will," said Dimentio.

Count Bleck motioned for the X-Nauts to follow to follow, and then they left down another corridor- Bleck, Sherwood, Gary, and Nastasia.

"Wait, but what about the--" Dimentio started, but Count Bleck was already gone. Dimentio glared at the other two and said with disdain, "Even when _I_ win, he wins."

THE END

* * *

_I had another version of this story that actually contained the fight between Bowser and O'Chunks, and where they met with the Shy Guys again, but both of them seemed a little redundant and the story played better this way. I've filed them away, but if you're disappointed with how this turned out and you'd like to see the other things, I might post them as a chapter 5 "Bonus Feature" section or something. I liked the scenes- they just didn't make the final cut._


End file.
